


Latte Art is the Way to Any Girl's Heart

by Sekundi



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Coffee, F/F, Fluff, latte art, other girls mentioned, sayo works at hazawa coffee au, tsugulisa r the real mvps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sekundi/pseuds/Sekundi
Summary: Reckless spending on video games can lead you to a lot of unexpected places, as Sayo finds out when she ends up working at Hazawa Coffee to make up for all her cash lost to NFO. But it's when Lisa drags Yukina along to the cafe with her one day that things really start to get interesting.
Relationships: Hikawa Sayo/Minato Yukina
Comments: 12
Kudos: 64





	Latte Art is the Way to Any Girl's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't drink coffee. I don't go in coffee shops. And more importantly, I have never made latte art in my life. So this fic is probably inaccurate as hell, bear with me please. Just... focus on the yuri fluff.

Sayo did not know when she had become a part-time worker at Hazawa Coffee. It had just happened.

It was mostly because taking care of a guitar wasn’t cheap, and with all her new hobbies, such as playing games and baking, there was a lot of money going out and not a lot coming in. Neo Fantasy Online may have been free-to-play, but there were so many tempting weapons and upgrades that were locked behind a paywall. And a few hundred yen couldn’t hurt, surely?

As it turned out, it did hurt, because the purchases stacked up and now Ako and Rinko shot her slightly concerned looks when they talked about NFO. As well as that, she now took in turn to buy baking supplies with Lisa for their joint sessions, and Lisa was ambitious, not that Sayo was objecting, but it did mean that her shopping list was rather large.

In fact, it was the baking that lead to her getting a job at Hazawa Coffee in the first place. Had she not signed up for their baking class, Sayo doubted she would have known Tsugumi as much other than ‘our rival band’s keyboardist’. But as things turned out, they were pretty close, and although she spent less time baking with Tsugumi than with Lisa, they still tried to hang out when they could. 

One day Sayo had made an off-hand comment about her lack of money, and Tsugumi had eagerly offered her the job.

“Work? Here?” Sayo had asked.

“I mean…” Tsugumi looked uncertain. “Well, my parents love you anyway, and it wouldn’t be full time or anything… I know your schedule is busy, but maybe just a couple days after school? Or weekends?”

Sayo thought about it. There wasn’t a single flaw in Tsugumi’s suggestion. It would cure her money problems (at least partly; it was probably time for her to say goodbye to impulsive NFO purchases too) and it was in a place she would be comfortable. Except…

“I do think it is a good suggestion, however I’m not quite sure I have the skills,” Sayo had said, with a thoughtful frown on her face. “I’m an amateur baker, and I’m not the best at talking to people, and my coffee-making skills are average at best…”

“Don’t worry about it!” Tsugumi had said cheerfully. “I can show you the ropes, and you don’t have to actually make our desserts. My parents take care of most of that! As long as you’re willing to work hard, you’ll be a credit to the cafe.”

Hard work was certainly something she was familiar with. But she must have still looked grumpy, because Tsugumi started shaking her hands desperately. “You don’t have to, of course! It was just something I came up with on the spot…”

Sayo could see Tsugumi doubting herself already, and decided to put a stop to it. “Hazawa-san. It is a wonderful suggestion. I will see what times my schedule is free, and get back to you.”

Tsugumi had positively beamed. “Really? Thank you so much! Man, my parents are gonna be so happy, I think they like you more than Afterglow, if I’m honest…”

Before Sayo could ask what was wrong with Afterglow (although she thought she already knew - they were _loud)_ the timer for the cookies they were making had gone off and they were back to work. But within two weeks, Hazawa Coffee had a fresh face tending to tables and serving lattes.

The work was not as difficult as Sayo had expected. Tsugumi had been right - she was given mostly menial jobs - but she didn’t mind. They were easy to do, and took her mind off her worries. Life in the cafe was like that - things were always moving, so it was very hard to find an opportunity to think. And sometimes, Sayo needed that.

Working at the cafe had also opened her eyes to how _busy_ it was. Sure, it had never been quiet, but it was only when she had to attend to them that Sayo realised how many customers there actually were. There was the odd familiar face too - Kokoro from the circus band, Arisa from student council. They were always nice to see, and hold a small conversation with. Mostly because Sayo didn’t have to worry about awkward pauses, seeing as she normally had to excuse herself to go off and do some other job.

Some less appreciated faces were the members of Afterglow, who always seemed to be in the cafe. It couldn’t be helped, Tsugumi was in their band, but they annoyed Sayo. Especially Moca and Himari, who always found a way to tease her. It was hard to focus on work when she could hear Moca making claims of how she was in love with Yukina behind her back. Tomoe and Ran were practically angels compared to them.

And for the record, she was _not_ in love with Yukina. She just admired her… passion for music! And admittedly, she was fairly attractive, but what else would you expect from the face of a band?

Anyway. That wasn’t relevant. What was relevant was one visitor who had a rather profound effect on Sayo’s work one day.

Lisa often popped in, mostly for the desserts, but also for the discounted coffee the Hazawas offered her. Before Sayo had worked there, Tsugumi’s parents had insisted on knocking off hundred or so yen from her coffee, so obviously that meant Tsugumi and Lisa got along well. Sayo didn’t know when this had happened, but it made sense. All you had to do was place them in a room together, say the word ‘baking’ and they would be in rapturous conversation for hours. 

Lisa was a very sociable girl, and she bought many customers with her to the cafe. Some Sayo knew, such as Arisa or Himari, but others were strangers to Sayo, mostly her gyaru friends from Haneoka. Sayo forget them all quickly enough anyway.

However, one day Lisa brought a visitor Sayo would remember for a very long time.

Yukina.

Seeing her band’s leader in Hazawa Coffee was a strange sight to Sayo. Almost like two worlds colliding. Yukina did like coffee (Sayo had observed her drinking it during their many trips to that wretched family restaurant) but she did not seem the type to drink it in a cafe. More the kind of person who got it take away from a big chain, took it home and tipped it down their throat at 2am while songwriting.

But here she was. Side by side with Lisa, which bothered Sayo for some reason, but she ignored the feeling as Tsugumi nodded at her to go and greet them. She straightened her apron, made sure her hair wasn’t a complete wreck (yet) and went out to say hello to her fellow bandmates.

“Hey Sayo! Working again?” Lisa asked as they took a seat.

Sayo only nodded, too focused on Yukina’s expression of surprise. 

“You work here?” Yukina asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

“....Yes, I do.” Sayo said, feeling slightly nervous under her harsh gaze.

“Since when?” Yukina said.

“A couple of months, I think?” Sayo answered. In all honesty, she couldn’t really remember.

“And you didn’t think to tell me? I was wondering why you suddenly had parts of your schedule taken up,” Yukina said thoughtfully. Sayo swallowed.

“Well then you should have just asked! I thought you already knew,” Lisa said with a laugh. “Oh, and I’ll have the usual, Sayo.”

“Understood,” Sayo said, writing it down on her notepad. “And you, Minato-san?”

Yukina looked at the small menu for longer than was probably necessary. Then, her eyes widened. “You do latte art?” she asked.

“Yes, we do,” Sayo said.

“Then… I mean… could I ask…” Hold on. Was Yukina embarrassed? What on earth could be embarrassing about latte art?

“Do you want a cat, Yukina?” Lisa asked with a knowing smile. 

“Can you… do that?” Yukina asked, still blushing and still refusing to meet either Lisa or Sayo’s eyes.

“Of course. It is not a difficult shape,” Sayo said, writing it down on her notepad. “And you would like it with a regular espresso, yes?”

“Yes, please. But sweetened a little, if it is not too much trouble…” Yukina said, the light dusting of pink on her cheeks still not faded.

“Alright. Your orders will be ready in a second,” Sayo said, before walking away as calmly as she could. But when she reunited with Tsugumi at the counter, she was a mess.

“Hazawa-san, you need to teach me how to do latte art,” she said immediately.

Tsugumi looked a little shocked, but nodded nonetheless. “O-Okay! But I thought you said you were a little nervous about doing it for customers… are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s an important situation. Minato-san requested it.” Sayo said.

Tsugumi smiled. “You want to make it special for your friend? Well then, guess I’ll show you! You can prepare the milk. Heat it to 60 degrees Celsius, okay?”

Sayo nodded and began to follow the instruction, taking care as she did it while Tsugumi continued talking.

“I’ll make the espresso for now, so we don’t leave anything lying around for too long. Did Lisa-senpai want latte art too?”

“No.”

“That’s good then, we can put extra effort into Yukina-senpai’s.” Tsugumi said, and was that a smirk on her face Sayo saw? Surely not. Tsugumi wasn’t the kind of person to tease, right?

“Yes, we can,” Sayo replied, and Tsugumi gave her a smile so innocent Sayo completely forget her suspicions. 

Once the milk and espresso were ready, Tsugumi poured in the espresso, before letting Sayo add the milk. “Pour slowly,”she reminded her, “or else it’ll be ruined.”

Sayo followed her instructions carefully, as she had done with every other task at the cafe. Except that this time it was special, because it was for Yukina, the leader of their band that was _literally_ built on perfection.

Plus, Sayo could vividly remember Yukina’s blushing face as she had requested the art, and it was too adorable a sight to deny.

...Wait, what was she thinking? She needed to get back to focusing on pouring the milk.

“That should be enough, Sayo-san,” Tsugumi said with another one of her gentle smiles that Sayo couldn’t help but think meant Tsugumi had known _exactly_ what she was thinking. She shook her head slightly and nodded. “What now?” she asked.

“Well, what design did Yukina-senpai ask for?” 

“A cat.” 

“Oh, that’s a good choice. Luckily for you, it’s not that hard either. We should pour a big blob in the middle like this,” Tsugumi said, holding Sayo’s hands steady until they reached the right amount, “and then two smaller little dots where we want the ears to be. See, you got it!”

Sayo appreciated Tsugumi’s kind words, but she wasn’t entirely sure if they were true. One of the ears had turned out a little bigger than the other, and it was bothering her. Tsugumi must have noticed, because she placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Sayo-san! Here, if you use the rod, you can make it look more like a cat. You can form the ears. See?” she said, turning the smaller ear Sayo actually liked pointy.

“I see. I’ll try, then.” Sayo said as Tsugumi passed her the rod. However, her hands were trembling ever so slightly and she ruined the second ear even more. She exhaled painfully, giving the rod back to Tsugumi.

“It looks great!” Tsugumi said, definitely lying through her teeth now. “All we have to do now is add whiskers. They should be okay for you, right?”

Sayo gritted her teeth painfully as she took the rod once more and added the whiskers. They turned out better, but Sayo couldn’t help but still feel incredibly disappointed with what she had created. Like she was letting down Yukina, somehow.

“This is really good for a first attempt,” Tsugumi said once she was done, being the angel she always was. “Are you gonna go and give this to Yukina-senpai now?”

Sayo frowned. “Shouldn’t we make Imai-san’s beverage too?”

“I’ll take care of that! But I think it would be better if you gave Yukina-senpai hers alone.” Tsugumi said, with that same knowing smile Sayo had noticed before.“Alright,” Sayo said despite her creeping nerves, and she grabbed a couple (well, more than a couple) of sugar packets for Yukina, placed them on the side of the espresso, and began the long walk back to Yukina’s table.

Yukina’s head turned the minute she was close and she immediately ended whatever conversation she was having with Lisa to stare at the simple espresso in anticipation. At least, that was what it looked like. Sayo could barely tell amongst trying to keep the plate steady, which was difficult, considering her hands had decided to start shaking again for no particular reason. Probably just to spite her.

“One espresso,” Sayo said, setting it down on the table. “Imai-san, your order will be here in just a se-”

And then Sayo stopped talking, because she was too distracted by Yukina’s reaction to her latte art.

Looking at it again, Sayo hated it even more, seeing as it had become even more warped in the process of carrying the drink to the table. But a curious blush was forming upon Yukina’s cheeks, and her body was rigid as she stared down at it in what looked like awe. But that couldn’t be right.

“Minato-san…?” Sayo asked, trying to see if her bandmate (well, friend, really) was still functioning as a human being. She flicked a quick glance to Lisa, who looked like she was trying to stifle a grin.

“Cute…” was all Yukina whispered. She seemed to be breathing, but she was still locked in position looking down at Sayo’s fumbled cat.

“Do you like it, Yukina~?” Lisa asked, a teasing grin on her face. Yukina seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in to glare at Lisa, before turning to Sayo.

“How did you do this?” she asked in wonder.

Sayo stiffened. “It was mostly Hazawa-san…”

“But I saw you at the counter. You seemed to be very concentrated.” Yukina said, still looking straight at Sayo. Sometimes, Sayo felt that Yukina saw right through her, and it excited her more than it unsettled her, for some reason. Yukina just seemed to have that effect on her.

“Well, yes. It was a joint effort, I suppose.” Sayo said, feeling the beginning of a blush coming on that was also definitely there just to spite her.

Yukina continued staring right at her. Sayo was fighting an internal battle of wanting to look away from her heavy gaze, and losing herself in Yukina’s eyes. But then Yukina softened, and smiled at Sayo like she was the sun.

“Thank you.”

_Oh god._

If she was blushing earlier, she was probably bright red now. Shifting her gaze to the side, she swallowed and tried to prize an appropriate reply from her all of a sudden too-dry throat. Thankfully, Tsugumi came to her aid when she needed her most.

“Sorry for the wait! One white chocolate mocha for you, Lisa-senpai.” Tsugumi said, setting the drink down on the table. “Is there anything else you need?”

“We’re alright, thank you.” Yukina said, her gaze turned back towards her drink.

“Actually, I’m gonna go grab a couple napkins for us, yeah?” Lisa said. Mysteriously enough, Tsugumi didn’t stop her and insist on getting them herself, which would have been normal Tsugumi behaviour. Even more strangely, Lisa decided to for some reason take her drink with her as she went. Sayo was about to go back to the counter (as much as she wanted to stay with Yukina) when she noticed that Tsugumi had totally disappeared.

“Where did Hazawa-san go?” she asked Yukina. Tsugumi had been right next to her barely a second ago!

Yukina shrugged. “Back to work, I presume. But if it is not too much trouble, you may sit down.”

Sayo took a moment to process Yukina’s words. “But I thought Imai-san had just left to get the napkins?”

Yukina was once again looking down at the latte art, but her eyes were strangely unfocused. “Something tells me she won’t be back for a while.” she said in a quiet voice.

“But I’m on shift,” Sayo continued to protest, despite her desire to sit and stay with Yukina growing by the second.

“You are not the only one. Please,” Yukina said, her voice getting even softer. “Just for a minute or two.”  
  
Sayo wildly looked around for support, namely Tsugumi. She found her on the other side of the cafe. Their eyes met, and Sayo asked a silent question. At first, Tsugumi looked confused, but then her expression cleared and… was that a _nod?_

Well, it seemed like she had gained the approval she needed. Sayo was still a little terrified at the prospect of one of Tsugumi’s parents finding her like this, but she nonetheless sat down across from Yukina, hands balled up in her apron under the table.

It was silent for a moment, before Sayo decided to break it. “Aren’t you going to have your drink, Minato-san?”

Yukina bit her lip. “Well… I would need to put in the sugar. And then actually, well, drink it. Both of which would ruin this.” She gestured to the art.

“It’s really nothing special…” Sayo said nervously.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s lovely. And very cute.” Yukina said, each word only adding to Sayo’s embarrassment. Some deity needed to swoop in and save her, preferably right now.

“It’s not perfect, though,” was what Sayo ended up saying.

Yukina gave her a deadpan look. “Sayo. This isn’t music. It doesn’t _have_ to be perfect.”

Oh, if only things were that easy. She had been trying to tell her brain that for the past seventeen years with relatively little success. “That may be true, but you should still drink it before it gets cold.”

“I suppose,” Yukina said, although she still looked reluctant.

“Here, I’ll put in the sugar for you,” Sayo said before she could process her words. She was about to take them back in embarrassment, but Yukina nodded, pushing her drink towards Sayo.

Hands still trembling ever so slightly, Sayo ripped open the first packet and poured it in, simultaneously trying to avoid Yukina’s gaze while stealing glances at her. Yukina’s arms were folded, and her face looked bored, but she was leaning forward and Sayo could see that same glint in her eyes she saw whenever she was singing on stage. And all she could think was: _Wow. Minato-san must_ really _love cats._

Second packet, third packet, fourth packet, fifth. Sayo had always watched Yukina wordlessly dump half a dozen sugar packets into her coffee at Roselia’s many meetups, but now it was hitting her how long the process was. And how much sugar Yukina consumed! She may not like bitter things, sure, but this was ridiculous.

...Yukina did look cute, though. She was almost catlike as her eyes followed Sayo’s hands. Occasionally, however, when Sayo sneaked another glance at Yukina, she would find Yukina had been staring at her face right back. When this happened, both of them averted their eyes as quickly as possible and went back to what they were doing before like nothing had happened. Still, Sayo couldn’t help but feel her stomach leap whenever green met gold.

Sixth packet. Sayo couldn’t help but notice Yukina’s expression fall as the cat design almost completely disappeared. She really was rather cute. Then, she looked up at Yukina once more, only to find that yet again, Yukina was staring back. And this time, neither of them broke eye contact.

“Well, aren’t you going to stir it?” Yukina asked after a moment that had felt a lot longer.

Sayo caught up to reality. “Of course,” she murmured, picking up a spoon and beginning to turn the sugar. Gently. She wanted this to be perfect, to take even more care than she normally would. Although sitting down with Yukina and stirring her own coffee was already far, far more than she would do with any other customer.

Once she was done, she pushed the espresso back across the table to Yukina, who immediately raised it to her lips. Sayo held her breath. Yukina had never come in the cafe before (to her knowledge) which was good, as she didn’t know what Tsugumi’s far superior coffee tasted like. Hopefully, she found Sayo’s adequate. Although, Tsugumi had largely helped with making the actual coffee too…

“It’s delicious,” Yukina said, breaking Sayo out of her thoughts.

“Really?” Sayo replied.

Yukina frowned. “I would have hoped you’d have a bit more faith in your own coffee, Sayo, seeing as you’re an employee here.”

“I do! It’s just… I wanted to make it as good as possible for you,” Sayo said, her mouth once against moving faster than the rest of her body.

Yukina raised her eyebrows. “Is that so? Why?”

Oh, Sayo was in trouble now. Why couldn’t she just learn how to keep her mouth shut? “Because you’re our band’s leader, and a good friend…” she said, her words becoming quieter and quieter as she spoke. She hoped Yukina wouldn’t hear over the other loud noises in the cafe.

No such luck. Yukina had heard perfectly, and her lips were curled in the tiniest beginnings of a smile. “I don’t think that’s all there is to it, though.”

Sayo could feel her face heat up, and her hands that had gone back to being clenched under the table were becoming sweaty. Yukina was staring at her again, once again giving Sayo the distinct feeling she could see right through the many walls she had put up. And Sayo had no choice but to stare back.

“I…” Sayo began, but her throat had once again become oddly dry, and no more words would come out.

“Am I wrong, Sayo?” Yukina asked, but her voice was much more gentle, and barely above a whisper. It was almost as if she was scared herself.

If that was the case, then Sayo might as well take the opportunity Yukina had given her.

“...No. You’re not wrong.”

Yukina smiled softly, looking down at her coffee again. “So Lisa was right,” she said quietly.

Sayo frowned in confusion. “What does Imai-san have to do with this?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Yukina said hastily. “It’s not important. What I wanted to ask was…”

Yukina reached behind her and fumbled around in her bag for an admittedly long amount of time, before finally fishing out two slips of paper. Wordlessly, she pushed them across the table to Sayo.

Movie tickets. For two teens, this Saturday.

A silent invitation. 

Obviously, the time could be better spent practising, but then that was also true with playing NFO, baking with Lisa, and even working here at the cafe...

Sometimes, it was okay to take a break.

Sayo looked back up at Yukina, and this time, it was her turn to smile.

“Of course.”

* * *

“God, imagine being stupid,” Lisa muttered, as she drank up the last of her white chocolate mocha.

“I think it’s a bit mean to call them that, Lisa-senpai…” Tsugumi replied.

They were both witnessing the scene across the cafe. They couldn’t make out what Yukina and Sayo were saying, but their constant goofy smiles and blushing was enough to tell them everything they needed to know.

Lisa gave her a pointed look. “You haven’t seen them in rehearsal. It’s all ‘That was good, Sayo’ and ‘T-thank you, Minato-san…’, all the time. Something had to be done. Have you got anyone like that in your band?”

Flame-red and cotton-candy pink hair immediately flashed across Tsugumi’s mind, but out of respect for her friends, she shook her head.

“Well then, you’re lucky. It’s hard to watch them sometimes,” Lisa said, placing her mug down on the counter and sighing.

Tsugumi spied movement. “Look, I think Yukina-senpai just gave her the tickets!” she exclaimed.

“Really?” Lisa asked, squinting across the cafe. “Oh wow, you’re right! Props to Yukina. She’s not spineless after all.”

Tsugumi decided to ignore the most recent of many scathing comments from Lisa (She knew her senpai loved her friends, really) and instead focused all her attention on Yukina and Sayo. Sayo had stared at the tickets in wonder for a few seconds, before breaking out of her trance and giving Yukina a smile so big Tsugumi could feel its impact from her stool on the other side of the cafe.

“Mission accomplished,” she whispered, and Lisa grinned at her.

“Amen to that,” Lisa agreed, and they clinked their empty mugs together.

**Author's Note:**

> With every fic I write my lisa becomes more and more OOC but I don't care. YukiSayo are stupid and even Lisa would get tired of their stupid flirting in rehearsal after a while.
> 
> Comments and kudos mega appreciated, even for this silly little fic.
> 
> (P.S: I may revisit the 'sayo works at hazawa coffee' headcanon soon, it's one of the funniest ideas I've had in a while.)


End file.
